Any D- SLR reccomendations in the under 1k range?

Christmas time is fast approaching and Im trying to figure out what to get the hubby. He has a Oly 2500 but it's card reading is finicky, it would be nice to get him something new with a warranty.

Im going back and forth mainly between:

Nikon D-50
Olympus E-500
Canon EOS 350D

Anyone have any opinions to offer?

TIA!

If the D-70S was among them, I'd probably go Nikon (I like the feel of the Nikon in my hand better, it's more comfortable to use for me).


All three of those you listed will give you great photos. The only catch with the Olympus is that there are not a huge variety of lenses to chose from as there are with Nikon and Canon.

did I make a mistake?

But I love it. Like I said, picture quality is great from all of them, but the Nikon felt best in my hand so that's what I went with.

I will probably be selling mine and upgrading to a D200 early next year some time though.

I went to my local photo shop and tested both out. I honestly liked the pics from the d50 better.. Both my husband and I are freaks about noise... plus I got a great deal on a kit with the 18-55 and the 70-200 plus a 5 year warranty for just about what a d70s runs with one lens.

Alot of it did come down to how the cameras felt.. the Canons felt way to small in my female hands, plus I hated how they only had rear displays. The olympus 500 actually felt nice.. but I wasnt fond of the back display either.. or the fact that lenses were going to be a pain in the ass.

The only thing that almost swayed me with the d70 was the wireless flash option. But that stuff is all gravy, considering that anyone using this camera will be a solid amateur :)

Thanks for the advice!

...that seems to favor the Nikon.

http://www.kenrockwell.com/nikon/d50.htm
http://www.kenrockwell.com/canon/300d.htm

(It doesn't have a review of the Olympus yet.)

He's strongly biased towards Nikon and often posts "reviews" of products he's never actually touched or even seen.

Also, there's a pretty significant difference between the 300D and the 350D.

If you have no lenses from perviious cameras, you might as well get into a fully dedicated system. Besides, this one is considered weatherproof and very tough. I know a storm chaser who dropped it on the beach, where a wave engulfed it. It still worked. He swears by it.